


The Au Pair

by Littlenoelle



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Au Pair, Bitchy Lexa, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Getting to Know Each Other, Jealous Lexa, Multi Chapter, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Out of Character, Past Drug Use, Polis is in France, Protective Clarke, Protective Lexa, Sassy Clarke Griffin, Slow Burn Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Toddlers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-02-29 10:21:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18776323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Littlenoelle/pseuds/Littlenoelle
Summary: Clarke goes to Polis to take care of Aiden, au pair in France has always been her dream, until she meets the boy's step sister Lexa.*Polis and TonDC are in France (Polis is Paris)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first clexa fic an my second fic ever. Hope you guys like it

Chapter I: Here we go to Polis

“Promise me you’ll call when you get there?”  
“I will, mom.”  
“Okay. Be careful – you know those French people can be a little crazy sometimes.”  
“mom!”

A voice over the loudspeaker announced, “Last call for flight 319 to Polis.”

“mom, I’ve got to go! I’m going to miss my flight. I promise I’ll call as soon as I get there. I love you.”  
“Love you too pumpkin…please be careful. See you at Christmas time,” she said as she hung up with a heavy heart.

Clarke put her cell phone back in her coat pocket and sighed heavily before making her way toward the hostess, boarding pass in hand.

“I can’t cry, I won’t cry, I won’t cry,” Clarke mumbled to herself. “Come on Clarke, you wanted this opportunity to leave good old Arkadia behind and this is your chance, so stop feeling sorry for yourself and go sit down.”

She made her way down the aisle toward 13C. “Here it is.” She stood on her tiptoes trying to put her carry-on into the overhead luggage space. “Damn, why do these things have to be so high?” she said aloud in frustration.

“Let me help you, mademoiselle.” Clarke turned toward the voice and was faced by two smiling brown eyes.  
“Sure, that would be great. These things are not made for people vertically challenged like me,” she said with a smile before sliding into her seat.

The stranger put her carry-on away with ease and looked at Clarke. “Well, you and I are going to spend some time together – I’m 13B.”  
“Great, I hate flying, so having someone to talk to always helps me.” She softly tugged a lock of blond hair behind her ear. “Where are my manners? I’m Clarke.” She extended her hand to her travel companion.

“I am Bellamy,” he said, shaking her hand.  
“Well Bellamy, nice to meet you.” She smiled at him. 

The plane started taxiing toward the runway. “Oh boy, here we go.” She said nervously. “Have I mentioned that I hate flying?” As the plane started to gain speed Clarke grabbed her seat arm and closed her eyes.  
“But you should not close your eyes the take-off is the best part!” Bellamy teased her.  
“Speak for yourself. It scares me senseless,” Clarke said with clenched teeth. “Just tell me when we’re high enough that I can’t see the ground anymore.”  
“Okay.” Minutes went by and Clarke started to relax. “Okay, it is safe to open your eyes now.” Bellamy said softly.  
“Sure?”  
“Yep.”

She opened her eyes and glanced cautiously out the windows where only clouds were visible. She let out a heavy sigh and let go of the arm rest.  
“So, how long are you going to stay in France?” Bellamy asked.  
“What? Oh sorry, you startled me.” She slowly opened and closed her hands to bring back the blood circulation.  
“I was just wondering how long you will be in France?”  
“Oh, yeah, sorry…one year.”  
“Pretty long time for someone so young to be away from home.”  
“Hey, I am 18, and perfectly capable of handling myself,” Clarke answered with irritation. Clarke was annoyed that people just assume that she was this young helpless little girl.

Bellamy interrupted Clarke’s musing. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.” Bellamy apologized. “I’ll shut up and leave you alone now.” Bellamy reached for his bag tucked under his seat and took out a book.  
Clarke carefully took a glance at him. Okay girl, put your pride in your pocket and make peace. Curly hair, good boy face… Come on, he can’t be that much older than you.. Clarke sighed. 

“So how old are you anyway?”

“Oh, now you’re talking to me, huh?”  
“Yeah, well eight hours is a long time to be silent.”  
Bellamy smiled. “I’m 22, not that old.”

Clarke laughed. “Why don’t we just drop the age thing for a while? I guess from your accent you are French, right?”  
“Yes. So, what are you going to do for a year in France?”  
“Au pair.”  
“You are kidding.”  
“No, look.”  
Clarke grabbed her backpack from under her seat and took out a folder.

“These are pictures of the family I’m going to stay with.” She showed Bellamy the pictures of a little boy and his parents. “This is Aiden – he’s two – and those are his parents, Nia and Gustus.”

“Who is that?” Bellamy asked pointing to a picture of Aiden in the arms of a tall woman with long brown hair and clear green eyes. “Whoever that is I wouldn’t mind being her au pair!”  
“Hey!” Clarke poked him in the ribs. “This is Aiden’s step sister Lexa.”

“Why do they need an au pair when they obviously have someone old enough to take care of the little man when the parents are busy?”  
“I don’t know, they didn’t really explain in their letters. I don’t think the step sister lives with them all the time.”

“So, are you going to stay in Polis?”  
“Yep.”  
“ I am from Tondici.”  
“Not that far from Polis”

Their conversation went on for hours. Bellamy gave Clarke dos and don’ts about her future life in France. They talked about everything from music to politics, and when the flight attendant announced that the plane was starting its descent towards Polis, Clarke and Bellamy were chattering like old friends.  
The landing was not as hard on Clarke, thanks to Bellamy who distracted her by pointing out some of Polis most famous monuments that could be discerned from high above.

“Mesdames et Messieurs, vous pouvez maintenant détacher vos ceintures et procéder vers la sortie,” the flight attendant announced.  
“Well, I guess it’s time to go.” Clarke started to get up.  
“Here, I’ll get your carry-on,” Bellamy offered.  
“Thanks.”

Bellamy handed her the bag. “Listen, here is my phone number. You can call me anytime, and I’ll show you around.”  
“Thank you. I’ll do that.”  
They slowly made their way toward the exit, and walked out.  
“This is where we go our separate ways. I don’t have to go through the same immigration line as you, so I’ll talk to you later.”  
“See you. Talk to you later,” Clarke answered.

Bellamy walked away, turned around, waved one last time, and was gone.

As Clarke stood in the immigration line, the nervousness she felt earlier in the plane came back. Come on, we’re not flying anymore, so why I am so nervous? New country, new people, new language. Yeah…that’ll do it, Clarke took a deep breath. Okay, what’s the sentence in French for nice to meet you…damn, I can’t remember!

A tap on the shoulder interrupted her thoughts.  
“Hey girl, it’s your turn, are you going or what?”  
“Oh, sorry.”  
She walked up to the immigration officer, and handed over her passport.  
“Have a nice year.” The officer said while stamping her passport.

Well, that wasn’t too painful. She tucked her passport back in her jacket pocket and made her way toward the luggage area.  
Okay, all the suitcases accounted for. Oh boy, I should have listened to mom and not taken so much with me.Clarke piled her luggage onto the cart and pushed it toward the exit.  
When she emerged into the waiting area her eyes scanned the crowd for the faces she only knew from pictures. Okay let’s not panic, I‘m sure they haven’t forgotten about me.

“Ouch!” Clarke exclaimed when a cart ran into the back of her legs. “Hey, watch where you’re going!”  
“Well, get out of the way!” an old man answered before shoving her aside and walking away.  
Welcome to Polis, City of love! thought Clarke sarcastically.

“Clarke Griffin?”  
“What?” Clarke barked, irritated for not finding her host family and by the old man’s rudeness. Clarke looked up to find a tall woman with sunglasses staring at her.  
“Are you Clarke Griffin?” the woman asked.  
“Yes I am.”  
“Good, follow me,” the woman said before turning away  
“Wait a minute, I am not going anywhere with someone I don’t even know.”

The woman sighed and took off her sunglasses revealing a pair of clear green eyes. “I am Lexa Woods.”  
“Oh…sorry, I didn’t recognize you with the glasses…I wasn’t expecting you here,” Clarke apologized.

Lexa didn’t answer, instead grabbing the cart away from Clarke and pushing her way out of the crowd.  
Clarke was almost running to keep up with her. The exhaustion of the eight-hour flight took its toll, and she found herself unable to keep up. Soon she was far behind, finally losing sight of Lexa Woods.

Clarke stopped and tried not to panic. She has to realize that I am not following anymore. She stood alone in the middle of the crowd and tried to fight back the tears that threatened to fall. Not bad for your first day Clarke, almost run over by an angry old man with a cart and now lost in the airport. Not able to contain them anymore, tears started falling down her cheeks.  
Suddenly a hand grabbed her shoulder. 

“What are you doing? I told you to follow me.” Lexa looked at Clarke angrily.  
“I lost you in the crowd, and…” Clarke’s tears started flowing even more. She felt helpless, lost, and homesick.

Lexa reached for something inside her leather coat pocket and handed a tissue to Clarke. “Here,” she said.  
“Thanks,” Clarke said sniffling.  
Lexa nodded and grabbed Clarke’s hand with one hand and the cart with the other and proceeded to make her way out of the crowd.

Once they reached the parking lot, Lexa let go of Clarke’s hand. No words had been spoken between the two women since inside the airport. Clarke felt exhausted and numb. She was ready to break the silence when Lexa spoke first.  
“Here is the car. Good thing I took mom’s car with the number of suitcases you have,” Lexa stated with annoyance.

Clarke was starting to really get irritated with this woman who was less than welcoming and rude beyond words.  
“Try packing light for a whole year.” Clarke snapped back.  
Lexa looked coldly at Clarke. She opened her mouth as if she was going to speak, but instead just turned her back and opened the trunk of a gray Mercedes station wagon. She grabbed the first suitcase and put it in the trunk. Clarke started moving to help her.

“I can handle your suitcases. The car is open – why don’t you just go sit down,” Lexa said while reaching for another piece of luggage.  
“Fine,” answered a frustrated Clarke. What is her problem? She fumed internally while making her way to the passenger side. She opened the door and dropped herself onto the seat. Shortly after, Lexa sat behind the wheel and started the car.

Clarke glanced over at the clock. 8 a.m. No wonder I’m so cranky, I’ve been awake for over 24 hours. She yawned. But I wonder what her excuse is, Clarke thought while looking at the woman sitting next to her.  
She doesn’t look that French... brown hair, green eyes, high cheekbones, very tall, Clarke mused. I bet she never spends a Saturday night without a date.

 

“Stop staring.”  
“What?”  
“You have been staring at me for the past five minutes. Stop staring,” Lexa said coldly.  
“Uh…sorry…I didn’t realize I was staring…I…”  
“We’ll be there in twenty minutes.”  
“Okay,” answered Clarke, relieved at the change of topic. 

Silence settled once again in the car. Clarke looked out the window and could see Polis lights on her right while the car went down the highway at high speed. She felt some of the excitement she first had when hearing that she had been accepted in the au pair program. I am not going to let some rude stranger ruin my first day in France. I’ve been waiting for this moment for too long. Clarke smiled to herself. Okay, time to see if Miss Queen of Rudeness can utter more than two words in a row.

“So, your English is really good, and you barely have any accent. Where did you learn English?”  
Lexa glanced briefly at Clarke before looking back at the road. “At home.”  
Clarke sighed. “More details, please.” She said sarcastically.  
“My mother was American,” Lexa answered. “Why in the world do you need to know anyway? You’re here to take care of Aiden, not me,” Lexa said angrily.

“Wow, calm down. I was just trying to make conversation.”  
“Then don’t bother,” Lexa said flatly.  
“Fine.”

The rest of the trip passed in silence. Clarke had started to drift off when the car stopped in front of a high iron gate. Lexa reached out the window and dialed a code, opening the gate. The car drove in and stopped in front of a beautiful red brick house with flowers on the front porch. Next to this house were other similar houses. The row of houses ended with what looked to Clarke like garage doors.

Lexa got out of the car. I guess that’s my signal to move, thought Clarke. She extricated herself from the comfort of the Mercedes seat, and made her way toward the trunk.

“Leave it. You can get it later,” Lexa said while walking up the steps to the door. Lexa took her keys out of her left coat pocket and open the door. While stepping inside she yelled in French, “We’re home!” Clarke, who was close behind her, heard tiny footsteps running toward them and a toddler’s voice screamed. “Lex!”  
The toddler came running into Lexa’s arms. She picked him up and launched him high above her head and back into her arms. She had a huge grin on her face and was whispering words in the child’s ear.

That’s a change from what I have had to deal with for the past two hours. Clarke was amazed at the change of attitude in Lexa. She seemed so happy, yet minutes ago, she was ready to kill Clarke just for talking to her.  
Clarke’s thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a really tall woman wearing a green business suit and high heels. Her face looked severe and tired, and her hair was still damp from the shower.

 

“Hello, I am Nia,” the woman said while smiling at Clarke. “And I see you have already met my son, Aiden, and of course Lexa since she picked you up from the airport.” Nia walked toward the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. 

Clarke felt compelled to follow her. “I hope Lexa didn’t give you too much of a hard time. She can be very rude sometimes, and God only knows how upset she was this morning to have to get up so early to drive.”

Clarke debated how to answer this question. Do I say that she was extremely rude, or do I just pretend nothing happened? …I guess if I have to be part of the family for a year I’d better not get on anyone’s bad side.  
“No, ma’am, she was really nice.”  
“Oh good, well that’s a first.” Nia lit a cigarette and finished her coffee.

“Listen, you must be exhausted. Lexa will show you up to your room. I have to go to work, but we’ll talk when I get back.” Nia turned towards Lexa who was still holding Aiden. “Aiden, viens dire au revoir à maman.”  
Aiden jumped from his sister’s arms and ran to his mother. Nia continued talking as she picked him up.

“We speak English as well as French in this house. I want you to speak English to Aiden, so he can learn, and we’ll speak French to you so you can also improve. It worked really well with the last au pair, so it shouldn’t be a problem.” Nia gave Aiden a quick kiss and put him down before grabbing her coat. “Lexa will take care of Aiden for today. Ask her if you need anything.” 

Nia opened the door. “Oh, I almost forgot. Lexa, your dad called. He won’t be home until the beginning of next week.” She paused and smiled coldly. “He had to prolong his trip.”

Lexa’s eyes didn’t betray any emotion, but her voice was quivering when she spoke. “He knows that I’m leaving at the end of the week. He said that…”

 

Nia interrupted her. “Yes, he said to tell you to have a good beginning of semester. Okay, I have to go.” With those words Nia was gone.

“Bitch,” Lexa mumbled to herself before locking the door behind Nia.  
“I take it you weren’t expecting him to stay away so long.” Clarke asked.  
“None of your damn business.” Lexa coldly stared at Clarke, defying her to add any more comments. Clarke stood her ground and stared back into Lexa’s eyes, not willing to give this woman another victory. Their staring contest ended when Aiden tugged on the hem of Lexa shirt.

“Up, Lex. Up.” He looked at Lexa smiling with his tiny little arms extended waiting to be picked up. Lexa bent over to scoop him up and turned to Clarke.

“ I’ll show you to your room. Just get from the car what you need for today. I’ll get the rest later.”  
“Okay, thanks.” Clarke made her way to the door. “I need the…”  
“The car is unlocked.”  
“All right then, I’ll be right back.” Clarke exited and slowly closed the door behind her.

“Well, pumpkin, what do you think of your new babysitter?” Lexa asked her little brother. “If she is as lazy as the one you had previously…well, you are in for a surprise.” Lexa moved toward the family room still carrying the child. “Maybe I should transfer to a closer University, so I could come and stay with you…huh, what do you think?”

The child gave Lexa a grin and started playing with her necklace. “Lex, stay. Lex, stay.” Lexa distracted Aiden’s attention from her necklace by showing him a Fisher Price red fire truck. “Tuk” said Aiden happily. “Truck, not tuk.” Lexa explained. “Tuck.” Aiden repeated. Lexa sighed, “Okay, sweetie, let’s leave the phonetic lesson for another day, and go see what blondie is doing outside.”

At that moment the door opened to reveal Clarke struggling with a large suitcase. “Sorry it took me so long, but I couldn’t remember which suitcase I had put my toilet kit in, so I had to open everything. Well, finally I found it, so I figured I would take the entire suitcase in because who knows what I might need today, and….”

“I’ll show you your room.” Lexa made no move to pick up the suitcase and started up the stairs with Aiden still in her arms.  
“Could you give me a hand? I mean, it’s so heavy I don’t think I can carry it upstairs by myself.” Lexa did not answer, but made her way back down the stairs, and softly put Aiden down.

“Up! Up!” Aiden started to scream.  
“Aiden, chill out, I’ll pick you up in a minute. I have to carry your babysitter’s suitcase.” Lexa seemed annoyed and snapped the suitcase out of Clarke’s hand and marched up the stairs as if she wasn’t carrying anything more than a simple briefcase. Aiden started whining. “Lex, Lex!”

Oh boy, if he can’t be away from her for even a single minute, I’m going to have a grand time with him next week when she leaves. Clarke knelt in front of Aiden. “Hey, want me to carry you upstairs?” Aiden looked at Clarke with teary eyes, and raised his little arms up toward her. “One victory for Clarke Griffin,” mumbled Clarke.

The wooden stairs of the Polis house creaked as Clarke made her way up. Once at the top of the stairs she looked around for any sign of Lexa. In front of Clarke was a long corridor leading into two more corridors. One, two, three…damn, four doors. I wonder if they’re all rooms. Well, none of them are open, so I guess mine must be somewhere further down, Clarke walked slowly down the corridor admiring the high ceiling and the antique paintings on the wall.

“Hey, what’s taking you so long?” called Lexa.  
“Where are you?” Clarke heard a heavy sigh.  
“Take the first corridor on your left, second door on your right.” Clarke followed the directions and found herself in a large room with an enormous bed sitting in the middle. “Quite a house you guys have,” exclaimed Clarke with excitement.

“Well, yeah…I don’t really live here!” answered Lexa.  
“Ok, but still it’s impressive.”  
“Whatever.” Lexa reached for Aiden who was still in Clarke’s arms. “Come  
babe, time to let your babysitter get some rest.”  
“Clarke…my name is Clarke, I’m not just ‘the babysitter!’”

“Well there’s not much use learning your name. Usually babysitters don’t stay very long in this house.” Lexa waved toward a door on the far left of the room. “The bathroom is over there.” She then left the room and closed the door behind her.

Clarke looked at the freshly closed door dumbfounded; she had never come across anyone like Lexa Woods – rude and so abruptly direct. Too exhausted to thing more about what happened, she walked to the bed and sat down, but before she had time to take a shower or even get cleaned up she was asleep.

********************************************************

As she was drifting deeper into sleep she suddenly remembered the promise she made to her mom at the airport, and startled herself awake. She sighed, rubbed her eyes, sprang off the bed and looked around the room for a phone knowing that her cell phone wouldn’t work in Europe.

“No phone. Okay, I guess I have to go downstairs.” She grabbed her University of Arkadia sweatshirt, put it on, and left her room.

As she reached the family room, Clarke found Lexa and Aiden asleep on the couch. Lexa had a protective arm wrapped around Aiden. I shouldn’t need to wake her up to find a phone…what did Bellamy tell me I had to dial to reach the States? I knew I should have written it down. 

As Clarke walked across the family room the wooden floor creaked, freezing her in her tracks. She glanced at Lexa, but the noise didn’t seem to have woken her up. Clarke let out a relieved sigh. Good, I really don’t want to deal with her right now. She finally spotted a phone at the other end of the room on an antique wooden desk. Clarke loved history and antiques, and she gently ran her fingers over the smooth wooden surface, wondering what story lay behind the acquisition of such an obvious piece of fine carpentry.

“What are you doing?” said a voice from behind her.  
Clarke spun around to find Lexa right behind her.  
“I…I was just looking for a phone to call my mom…I promised her I’d call before I left.”

“Why didn’t you ask?”  
“Uh…I didn’t want to wake you up, plus I seem to annoy you every time I open my mouth, so…”

Sudden screams stopped the two women from continuing what seemed to be the beginning of another argument.

“Great, now you woke him up,” Lexa barked while running toward Aiden.  
Clarke was fuming. “I did not wake him up. I was trying to be as quiet as I could, so stop blaming it on me.”

Lexa ignored Clarke and rushed back to Aiden. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m here. No need to cry.” Lexa picked up Aiden. “You’ve been crying a lot today. What’s wrong, huh? Wanna go play with your cars?” Aiden sniffled and nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”

Lexa turned to Clarke. “Do you know the number?”  
It took a second for Clarke to realize that Lexa was speaking to her. “What…what number?”  
“The number to call the US.”  
“No…I can’t remember it. Someone gave it to me in the plane, but I didn’t wr….”  
Lexa interrupted her. “001”  
“Oh, thanks.”  
“Yeah,” Lexa answered before walking out of the room with Aiden.

“Hi, mom?”  
“Hey sweetheart, I was starting to get worried. How was your flight?”  
“It was fine.”  
“I bet you must be exhausted. How is the family?”  
“I’ve only met the mother and the step daughter so far….”

It suddenly dawned on Clarke that she was thousands of miles away from home, and that so far her impression of her host family was far from pleasant. She opted to keep to herself the way Lexa had been behaving towards her, so not to worry her. 

“Great mom. They seem really nice.”  
“Oh, good.”  
“Okay mom, I’m really tired so I’ve got to go, but I will call you this weekend.”  
“Love you.”  
“Love you too mom.”

With those words the line went dead, leaving Clarke to stare at the phone wishing she could be home right now instead of trapped here in this house with the most complex woman she had ever met.  
Clarke went back to her room, took a quick shower and got into bed. She glanced at the alarm clock on the night table next to her bed, made a mental not of the time and closed her eyes.


	2. Making progress?

Chapter II

Clarke woke up to the sound of traffic and kids playing outside her window. She yawned, stretched and pushed the covers away from her.

She got out of bed, and went to the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face. She passed her hand through her blonde hair rapidly, grabbed a pair of sweat pants from her suitcase and decided to go downstairs. She opened the door to her bedroom to find herself in front of her pile of suitcases. She smiled, remembering Lexa’s earlier promise to bring everything up for her.

Clarke dragged her suitcases in one by one. She was busy trying to find a place for everything when someone knocked at the door. “Come in.”

The door opened to reveal Lexa wearing bike shorts and a sports bra covered in sweat; her long brown hair was up in a ponytail. She obviously had been working out.

“Nia is calling for you,” said Lexa flatly.  
“Oh, she’s back. Okay, I’ll be right down…I just have to brush my hair, and I’ll be right there.”

Lexa had already started closing the door.

“Hey, Lexa,” called Clarke.  
“What?” asked an annoyed Lexa.  
“Thanks for bringing my suitcases up for me…I know I have a lot…”

Lexa was patiently waiting for Clarke to finish her sentence, but showed no sign of answering.  
“Well, yeah…anyway, thanks,” finished Clarke.  
“You’re welcome,” said Lexa before leaving the room.

Clarke’s heart lightened up when she realized that Lexa seemed to be in a better mood, and thought that maybe she had judged her too fast and not taken into account that maybe Lexa was just having a bad day. Clarke shrugged and mumbled, “whatever,” unwilling to spend more time thinking of it.

She quickly brushed her blonde hair, put on some socks and was out the door.  
Clarke entered the family room.

“Ah! Clarke, there you are. Did you sleep well?” asked Nia.  
“Yes ma’am.”  
“Please call me Nia. I really hate being call ma’am or madame…makes me feel old.”  
“Okay,” answered Clarke.

“Did my stepdaughter show you around the house or was she a bear as usual and only talked to you in monosyllables?” Nia asked sarcastically.

Clarke looked at Lexa who had just stepped into the family room. She kept staring at Lexa while answering. “No, she was nice. I was just too tired to take a tour of the house, but I’d love to now.”

Lexa was surprised by Clarke’s answer. She had been called many things but nice never seemed to be on top of the list. The tall dark blonde woman raised an eyebrow at the comment, knowing very well that Clarke was lying through her teeth.

“Lexa?” Nia called. Not getting an answer, she raised her voice slightly. “Lexa!”  
“Uh… what?” said Lexa.  
“Haven’t you been listening?” Nia sighed. “I was asking you to take Clarke on a tour.”  
“I have to take a shower. I just came down to get a drink…I’m not your tour guide, Nia!” barked Lexa.

“Young lady, as long as you are under my roof you will do as I say,” answered Nia angrily. “Now, you will show Clarke the house, and when you come back I want you to have a better attitude. Is that understood?”  
Lexa was obviously fuming.

“Fine,” she said between clenched teeth. “Come on, we’ll start upstairs.”  
Once upstairs, Clarke reached for Lexa’s arm to stop her.  
“Hey, listen if you don’t have time to do it, no big deal. I’ll learn my way around the house soon enough.”

Lexa sighed, and her eyes softened a little. Gotta give her that, she is trying.  
“It’s okay. I’ll hear about it for days if I don’t do it.” 

Lexa looked at Clarke and silently hoped that the blonde girl had a strong backbone so she could stand up to Nia.   
“Oh, okay, I just want you to know that I won’t hold it against you.”  
Lexa gave her a half smile. “Come on, it’s a big house, it’ll take a while.”

********************************************************

Clarke followed Lexa from room to room admiring the antique furniture and the care with which each room had been put together. After being shown Gustus and Nia’s bedroom with its rich draperies, its king-size wooden sleigh bed, and its beautiful porcelain doll collection, Clarke was in awe.

“What do your parents do for a living? This is amazing,” exclaimed Clarke.  
“They are both antique dealers. My step mother runs the stores, my father travels around to find rare paintings or furniture or…well, anyway, you get the picture.”

Clarke realized that Lexa had put a strong emphasis on the word step mother. From the scene she had just witnessed downstairs Clarke realized that Nia wasn’t on Lexa’s list of favorite people. She made a mental note not to refer to Nia as Lexa’s mother, and quickly decided to just avoid bringing Nia’s up in front of Lexa .

They slowly made their way to the end of the corridor.  
“The rooms in the right corridor are nothing but storage rooms for the antique business.”

They walked down the left corridor where Lexa showed Clarke more bedrooms and bathrooms.  
“That’s it for the upstairs.”  
“Wait. What about you?” asked Clarke.  
“What about me?”  
“I mean…where is your room?”  
“Right corridor.”  
“You just said that there were only storage rooms over there.”

“Yeah, and my room.” Lexa was getting really annoyed with all the questions.  
“I would be scared to death to sleep all alone on this side of the house surrounded by antiques.”  
“Well, I’m used to it.”

“Why is your bedroom there anyway? It’s not like there isn’t enough room.”  
“You ask too many questions blondie.” Lexa answered coldly.  
“Sorry. Don’t get upset.”  
“Let’s finish, so I can get some peace and quiet.” Lexa walked away from Clarke.

Clarke shook her head in disbelief at the sudden turn around in Lexa’s mood and made another mental note to avoid any personal question.

The main floor was as grandiose as the upstairs, but the room that really caught Clarke’s attention was the library. Thousands of books lined the wooden shelves.  
“Amazing. How many books are in this room?” asked Clarke. 

She walked up to a shelf and picked up the nearest book. “Look at that, this book is so old its binding is made of thread and its pages are yellow. Les Fleurs du Mal from Baudelaire. I’ve heard of him, he was my French teacher’s favorite poet. It’s from 1898! Unbelievable.”

Clarke softly ran her hand over the leather cover and traced the engraved title with her fingers. She turned toward Lexa who was still standing in the door. “Do you ever come here and spend hours just reading and relaxing?” she asked Lexa.

Lexa could not help but crack a smile. Clarke’s enthusiasm was contagious.  
“No, I don’t have time for that, but yeah… it’s a pretty amazing room. Come on.”

Clarke followed Lexa out of the library and was still digesting everything she saw when Nia appeared.  
“There you are. Clarke, do you like pizza?”  
Clarke laughed. “Hey, I was raised on pizza!” Nia looked at her with surprise.

“It’s a joke! We eat lots of pizza in the States.” Clarke added.  
“Oh! Well, our cook is on vacation, and I must go back to the office, so I ordered pizza for the three of you.”  
“Wait…wait a minute, I am not babysitting tonight. I have plans,” said Lexa.

“Well, cancel them because there is no way I can get out of this meeting.”  
“I told you last week that I was going to a concert tonight,” said an irritated Lexa.

“Well, your father was supposed to be back, but you don’t see him here now do you? So, who do you think is going to take care of Aiden?”  
“Uh, I can do it,” said Clarke.

The two women turned toward Clarke.  
“I can. Really! I’ll take care of Aiden, so you can go to your meeting and Lexa can go to her show.”  
“I don’t know. Aiden doesn’t know you yet,” stated Nia.  
“I know, but what better way for him to get to know me than to be left alone with me. After all that’s what I’m here for, to be his babysitter.” She said the last word while staring intently at Lexa.

“Okay, I guess that’s fine by me. He goes to bed by 8:30 p.m. Give him a bath around 8…for the pizza, I left money on the kitchen table. Emergency numbers are on the fridge.” Nia grabbed her coat and called her son who was quietly watching a Paw Patrol video on youtube.

“Aiden, viens me donner un baiser.” When Aiden didn’t seem to answer, Nia walked to the family room. “Maman doit partir mon cheri. Bonne nuit.” She bent over to kiss him on the forehead. If Aiden heard his mother, he never made any move to say goodbye, and barely looked at her when she walked away.

“Okay, Clarke. Ask Lexa if you have any more questions. Bye.”  
“Bye.”

During the entire exchange, Lexa had not moved. After Clarke closed the door behind Nia, she faced Lexa.  
“Would you tell me a little more about Aiden? Does he have a favorite bed time story? Does he mind water in his eyes? Does he use regular…”

“No need to, I’m not going.”  
“Why?”  
“I’m not leaving you alone with him.”  
“Lexa, I’m going to have to be left alone with him sooner or later. What’s wrong with tonight? I thought you wanted to go to this show.”

“He’s more important than some concert.” There was no anger in Lexa’s voice, and Clarke detected a hint of sadness.  
“You have to trust me. I know how hard that may be for you but I can do this. You don’t know me, so how can you judge me so fast?” Clarke was now pacing.  
“You said it yourself. I don’t know you. That’s why I don’t want to leave you with Aiden.”

“Your stepmother didn’t see any harm in it, so I don’t know why you…”  
“She doesn’t care. She would have left him with the first guy on the street if it meant that she could go to her so-called meeting!” snapped Lexa.

“Okay, okay, we’re not getting anywhere by arguing.” Clarke sighed. “I’ll make you a deal. What time were you planning on leaving?”  
“Why do you…”  
“Just answer.” Clarke was getting more than irritated with Lexa’s irrational behavior. I am not going to let her step all over me, no way.

Lexa was surprised by Clarke’s abrupt tone of voice, and found herself answering the question.  
“8 o’clock.”  
“Good, Nia said that Aiden takes a bath by 8. Well, we give him a bath earlier, you put him to bed by 8 instead of 8:30, and you leave me in charge.”  
Lexa didn’t answer.

“He’ll be in bed; what could go wrong?” said an exasperated Clarke.  
“Okay, but you have to call me if he so much as wakes up. Got it?”  
“Yes” Clarke smiled to herself at the small victory. 

“One more thing.”  
“What is it now?” asked an annoyed Lexa.  
“I do everything with you. I want to be there when you bathe him, when you feed him, when you put him to bed…”  
“Okay, okay, I get the point.”  
“Thanks. It’s the best way for me to learn what he likes and doesn’t like.”  
“Fine.”

The doorbell stopped their conversation.  
“Pizza is here,” said Clarke.  
Lexa opened the door to be faced by a young boy carrying two pizza boxes.  
“Vous avez commander deux pizzas?” asked the delivery boy.  
“Ouais, c’est nous,” answered Lexa.  
“22 Euros, s’il vous plait.”  
“Attendez, je vais chercher de l’argent.”  
“I’ll get it,” said Clarke as she ran to the kitchen to pick up the money.

“Here it is.” She handed the money to Lexa.  
“Merci, et bonne soiree.”  
Lexa closed the door. “You understood what he said,” said Lexa.  
“I had 3 years of French in High school, and also took classes my first year of college.”

“How old are you?” asked Lexa surprised.   
“I’m 18,” answered Clarke annoyed at the question. 

She had always looked younger than her age and lately it had become a source of irritation to her. She felt as she wasn’t taken seriously because she looked so young. Clarke’s thoughts started going rampant and within a few seconds she had herself worked up.  
“Good,” answered Lexa satisfied, obviously unaware of Clarke’s inner dialogue. She then turned and walked away.  
Clarke looked puzzled and watched Lexa walk away.

********************************************************

Dinner was a quiet affair. Aiden ate his piece of pizza or at least the toppings, and declared himself done with dinner.  
“Done Lex. More TV?” Aiden asked while pulling off his bib and wiping his hands on his sweatshirt.

“Aiden, how many times have I told you not to use your clothes as a napkin?” said Lexa while bringing her face closer to him. Aiden sized the opportunity to grab Lexa’s hair with his dirty hands.  
“Aiden, let go.”

Aiden giggled and let go of his sister’s hair. Clarke could not restrain a laugh.  
“You think it’s funny?” asked Lexa.  
“Sorry…” Clarke could not stop herself from giggling. “…but you should see yourself in the mirror.”

Lexa got up to go look in one of the mirrors in the entrance. She took one look at herself and understood why Clarke was laughing. Some of her hair was glued together with some gooey substance and a piece of melted cheese hung from the right side of her forehead. How in the world did the little monster manage to do that? 

She walked back to the kitchen to find that Clarke had taken the initiative to extract Aiden from his high chair and was helping him wash his hands at the kitchen sink.  
Clarke heard Lexa walk back in, and gently put Aiden down.

“I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have laughed at you, but it was too funny,” Clarke apologized.  
Lexa grabbed a napkin to wipe her hair.  
“Nah, it’s okay. I looked funny.” Lexa smiled at Clarke and ran toward Aiden.  
“You little monster… I think… it is …tickle time!”

Aiden took off running with Lexa right behind him. She caught him and proceeded to tickle him. Aiden was laughing really hard when Clarke heard, “Damn it!” from where she was in the kitchen. She came running into the family room.

“What? What’s wrong?”  
“He peed on me.”  
“What?”  
“You heard me. I forgot that he’s just starting potty training, and when I tickle him too hard he can’t hold it.”  
“Oh.” Clarke was trying very hard not to find the situation amusing.

“You can laugh, but it’ll happen to you before you know it,” smiled Lexa.  
Clarke finally burst out laughing.

“Come on, I thought you said you wanted to be there when I give him a bath.”  
“I’ll follow you.” Clarke was finally starting to calm down.  
“Come on munchkin, bath time. You are climbing up the stairs yourself little man. I’m not picking you up after what you just did.” Lexa took his hand, and led him up the stairs with Clarke close behind.

********************************************************

Clarke was waiting downstairs for Lexa to finish saying goodnight to Aiden. She had watched Lexa’s interaction with Aiden the entire evening, and the tenderness and patience Lexa showed puzzled her. The woman proved to be an enigma, a mix between good and evil.

Upstairs, Lexa kissed Aiden one last time, and slowly walked out of the room.  
“Lex,” whined Aiden.  
Lexa sighed and reopened the door. “Sweetie, you’ve got to go to sleep now.”  
“Lex, stay,” Aiden cried.

Lexa walked back and knelt next to his bed. “Listen, I’ll sing you a song, but you have to close your eyes and go to sleep.”  
“’kay,” sniffled Aiden.

Lexa started singing a lullaby her mother used to sing to her.

“Dors Seraphine  
Tu seras marine  
Dors Sebastien  
Tu seras marin  
Les bateaux poussent  
Graines sous la mouse  
Leurs voiles sont  
Grandes comme un liseron”  
C’est les reves…”

Lexa stopped and gently caressed Aiden’s cheek before lightly kissing him.  
“I love you,” she whispered in his ear.

Stepping out of the room she came close to colliding with Clarke, who had been standing behind the door. “What are you doing?” growled Lexa.  
“I…I was wondering what was taking you so long, so I came up to see if everything was all right.”

Lexa stared coldly at Clarke for a few breaths, obviously debating her next course of action. She was trying very hard to control her rising temper. She didn’t like to be spied on and bed time with Aiden was sacred to her. “I’m going to go take a shower. There’s a monitor in your bedroom. Turn it on, so you can hear if Aiden wakes up,” 

Lexa said as she walked away, clinching her jaw in anger. She then disappeared into the right corridor.  
Clarke watched Lexa walk away and shook her head in disbelieve. She had been aware of Lexa’s obvious struggle to keep her anger in check, but what she couldn’t understand was why her actions warranted the woman’s anger in the first place. She ran her hand through her hair in frustration.

Clarke went into her room looking for the monitor, found it and turned it on. Now what? It’s only 8. I guess I can watch some Netflix.. She sat on her bed and turned the TV on. She took some time to decide on what to watch before settling for Mean Girls, finding it comical to watch and hear the voices being dubbed in French. 

As the movie ended, someone who Clarke assumed must be Lexa, knocked at the door.  
“Come in.”

Lexa poked her head through the door.  
“Hi, uh…I’ve got to go. Did you find the monitor?” she asked.  
“Yes,” Clarke answered shortly. She was too tried to try to be nice to the woman whose behavior seemed to go from hot to cold in a nano second.

“Okay, I wrote my phone number down, so you can call me if there are any problems.” Lexa walked in the room holding a piece of paper.  
“Just put it next to the TV,” said Clarke , not taking her eyes off the screen.  
Lexa did as told. “Okay, don’t hesitate to call,” she said before leaving.

Clarke didn’t even bother answering and did nothing to show Lexa that she had heard her last comment.  
A couple of minutes later, she heard the sound of the gate opening, followed by the loud noise of a motorcycle. Clarke ran to her window and gazed outside to see Lexa putting on a helmet and riding off into the streets of Polis.

********************************************************

A scream woke up Clarke. “What? What the hell was that?” Another scream was heard followed by sobs. “Damn it, Aiden!” Clarke ran to his bedroom.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m here.” She picked up Aiden and hugged him whispering calming words in his ears. “It’s okay, you just had a bad dream…shush…” Clarke ’s words only made Aiden cry louder. Clarke had a short moment of panic, but quickly regained control.

She walked to her room with Aiden screaming in her arms.  
“Look, Aiden, TV. You like TV. Isn’t this special? You’re gonna get to watch TV past your bedtime. Now, you have to stop crying.” Aiden’s screams slowly turned to soft sobs. “Okay, sweetheart, you and I are going to lie on my bed and see what’s on, ‘kay?” A teary Aiden nodded.

“Good, now I’m going to put you down on the bed, and I’ll get in next to you.” As soon as Clarke had laid him down, Aiden started screaming again. “Oh boy, you aren’t going to make it easy for me.”

Clarke quickly climbed into bed next to Aiden and pulled him into the comfort of her arms. Instantly Aiden stopped crying.  
Clarke let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, let’s see what’s on the French Netflix for kids. “Thank God for that damned Peppa Pig ,” she said when she saw the famous pink pig on the screen.

“What do you say munchkin? Is Peppa all right with you?” Clarke looked at Aiden, who was nicely tucked against her shoulder, and found him asleep. “So much for Peppa Pig, eh?” She smiled and tenderly wiped away a few remaining tears on Aiden’s cheeks.

What time is it? 1 a.m. I guess nobody is back yet. Clarke yawned, debated bringing Aiden back to his room, but opted against it. Instead she tucked the blanket tighter around his little body and closed her eyes.

********************************************************

Lexa unlocked the front door and stepped into the silent house. She hung up her leather jacket in the hallway, and went upstairs to Aiden’s room. She softly peeked through the open door and panic rose when she discovered an empty bed.

“What the hell?” She ran to Clarke ’s room and burst in.  
“Where is….” She stopped dead in her tracks. In front of her were Clarke and Aiden fast asleep.

Aiden was still gently secured in Clarke ’arms. Clarke ’s head had dropped sideways and was resting against Aiden’s.  
Lexa just stood there for a few minutes, unwilling to disturb their restful sleep. They looked very cute. 

Lexa was surprised; it had taken the past au pairs weeks before getting Aiden to let his guard down and show any sign of affection toward them. Maybe…maybe this one is going to stay, thought Lexa. She quietly turned off the TV and tried to pick up Aiden without disturbing Clarke.

Clarke stirred and opened her eyes. “Hey, you’re back.” She let go of the hold she had on Aiden so Lexa could pick him up.  
Lexa managed to pick up Aiden without waking him up. “What happened?” Lexa whispered.

“Nightmares…I’m sorry, I didn’t know what to do, so I took him back here with…”  
“No, no…that’s fine,” Lexa smiled. “Thanks.”  
“It’s okay,” said Clarke smiling back.  
“See you in the morning,” mouthed Lexa.  
“ G’night,” whispered Clarke.

Lexa walked carefully out of the room.  
“Hey, Lexa!” softly called Clarke.  
“What?”  
“Can you wake me up in the morning? I don’t know how to set up the alarm clock.” Clarke asked.  
“You got it,” answered Lexa. She then shut the door behind her.

Clarke slumped back on her pillow and shook her head in disbelief. I’ve been here less than 24 hours, and I’ve never seen someone with so many mood swings. Earlier she seemed as she wanted to kill me, now I’m her best friend. Clarke yawned. Gosh, I’m beat. She pulled the covers up and in a few minutes was asleep.

********************************************************

Clarke woke up and stretched. She smiled as she looked through the room and the reality of where she was started to really sink in. She shook her head, unwilling to spoil what seems to be such a beautiful day. Wondering what time it was she glanced at the clock and sat up suddenly. “10 a.m. what the ..?”

She jumped out of bed, pulled on some sweat pants and made her way downstairs.  
“Lexa?” she called.  
“In the playroom,” Lexa answered.

Clarke hurried. “Why did you let me sleep so long?”  
“Good morning to you too,” said Lexa sarcastically. “I thought you might still be jetlagged,” Lexa stated simply.  
“Yeah…well…thanks, I guess.”  
“You’re welcome,” smiled Lexa.

“What time did you get up?” asked Clarke.  
“6 a.m. This little man right here doesn’t know what sleeping in means,” said Lexa, pointing at Aiden who was absorbed in a Lego construction.

“Oh,” said Clarke , giving an understanding smile. “I guess Nia never made it back home, huh?”  
“Good guess.”  
“Does that happen a lot?”  
“Her not coming home?”  
“Yeah, I mean…does she often not sleep at home?” asked Clarke.  
“Yep, especially when my dad is out of town.”

Clarke found it better not to ask where Nia was spending her nights.  
“Listen…” said Lexa. She sighed before continuing. “You didn’t get assigned to the easiest family in the program. We’ve been through four au pairs in the past two years.”

Clarke ’s attention was fimly on Lexa.  
“I can’t hide from you that the main reason they left was that Nia overworked them and drove them crazy…” continued Lexa.  
“What about Aiden?” interrupted Clarke.

“What do you mean?”  
“Weren’t those girls attached to him? It ought to be enough to make it bearable.”  
Lexa smiled happily. Girl, you are earning brownie points with that answer.

“Obviously not. Not everyone comes here because they love children. Most of them come to France as an au pair because it’s a cheap way to live here for a year.”  
“Does Nia know that there are rules she is supposed to obey?” asked Clarke , sitting down on the floor next to Lexa.

“Like what?”  
“Before I left the US we had an au pair meeting, and they gave us a booklet about our rights.”  
“I don’t know if she does or not. I guess you’ll have to take it one day at a time.”

Lexa looked at Clarke straight in the eyes. “That’s only if you think you can handle it. It’s not too late for you to back out. I am sure the organization would find you another family very quickly.”  
“Are you kidding? And miss all the fun living with you and your family will bring?” answered Clarke jokingly. 

She realized that Lexa was extremely serious in her offer. “Listen…I know you don’t really know me. I also know that we started out on the wrong foot yesterday, but the reasons you gave me are not good enough for me to leave,” Clarke said seriously.

Lexa let a sigh of relief escape. “Okay.”  
“Plus…” Clarke paused and looked deeply into Lexa’s eyes. “…I think Aiden needs to have someone around he can trust when you are not here…” She then added shyly, “I think you need to leave someone you can trust in charge of him…and I hope I can be that person.”

Lexa looked intensely at Clarke. “Well…Aiden let you hold him last night, and he never does that with anyone he doesn’t trust, so who am I to deny him anything?” smiled Lexa. “But don’t worry, when my dad is here you’ll never have to baby-sit at night. He is crazy about Aiden.”

Lexa got up. “What do you say I show you what’s going to be expected of you when I’m gone?”  
“Sounds great, but…uh…do I have time to go shower first?” asked Clarke, standing up.  
“Sure…Aiden isn’t even dressed yet,” answered Lexa, picking up Aiden.

“Okay, I won’t be long,” said Clarke while running back upstairs.  
The morning passed quickly. Lexa showed Clarke where everything was located in the house. They even went for a quick ride around town and Lexa pointed out to Clarke the closest supermarket, the “boulangerie,” and the place where Aiden would start pre-school next week.

Clarke took notes to be sure she remembered everything Lexa said. After lunch Lexa put Aiden down for his nap, but this time she let Clarke stay in the room while she tucked him in.  
“Clarke, would you mind if I go for a run while he is napping? He should be out for at least two hours, and I should be back in 45 minutes or so.”  
“No, go right ahead.”  
“Okay.”

“Hey, Lexa? Can I borrow some books from the library or would your dad kill me if I touch anything?” asked Clarke.  
“Nobody ever uses the library…go right ahead. I’ll see you when I get back.” Lexa went up to get changed. She smiled to herself, feeling relieved for the first time in a long time. Maybe just maybe this time someone will stick around and she might be able to leave at the end of the week feeling that Aiden was in good hands.

Clarke opened the library door and was once again mesmerized by the number of books. She left the door open behind her, so that she could hear Aiden if needed. She ran her hand lightly over the lowest shelf of books. She went in search of the Beaudelaire book she saw yesterday and let a sigh of contentment escape from her lips when she found it. 

She picked up the book and sat in one of the leather chairs distributed around the room. She slowly opened it to reveal worn yellow pages. There is nothing like the smell of an old book. She inhaled deeply and lost herself in the poems.

“Hey, what’re you doing?” asked Lexa, popping her head through the open door.  
Clarke jumped, “damn, you scared me!” she exclaimed while trying to calm down her racing heart.  
“Sorry,” Lexa apologized with a smile.

“This is amazing,” said Clarke pointing to the book lying on her lap.  
“What’s amazing?” Lexa walked up and propped herself on a desk.

“I have been reading for almost an hour…I don’t understand a word of what I’m reading, but the language is so beautiful and the atmosphere of this room…I think Baudelaire is going to become my favorite poet.”  
Lexa laughed, “Yeah, I like him.”  
“You like poetry! Somehow I have trouble believing that,” Clarke joked.

“Hey, I go to college, I’m not ignorant,” Lexa said feigning hurt.  
Clarke smiled. “Oh, yeah I forgot.”  
“Page 41.”  
“What?”  
“Open the book to page 41.”  
Clarke did as told and let her gaze wander over the page. “What’s on page 41?” she asked.

Lexa did not answer, but instead proceeded to recite a poem. Clarke listened in awe, and even if she didn’t understand what Lexa was saying, she could easily make out the sounds and match them to the poem printed the page. When Lexa stopped, Clarke swallowed hard.

“You know it by heart! It was beautiful.”  
“Yeah, thanks…it’s my favorite poem…Le Serpent Qui Danse.”  
“What do you study?”  
“Journalism.”

“Neat, it must be very interesting. Are you almost finished?”  
“I would have been finished in June if I didn’t have to pull out to come and take care of Aiden in the middle of the semester. I missed the final exams.”  
“You mean that you postponed everything to come here and take care of your little brother?” Clarke said in disbelief.

“I will do anything for him, so if it means missing my exams so I can be here for him, then so be it.”  
“Still, it seems selfish of your parents to ask you to postpone your life for…”

Lexa interrupted her annoyed at the turn the conversation was taking, “They didn’t ask I offered. Now, stop obsessing over something that’s not your problem.”  
“Sorry, you are right. None of my business,” she apologized while tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear.

Lexa sighed. “Trust me I’m not worth getting worked up over.”  
Clarke looked at Lexa not understanding why the woman would dismiss her when she was just trying to show her indignation at what she thought was an unfair situation.

“If we are done here I have things to do.” With those words Lexa walked out of the room, leaving Clarke dumbfounded behind.

Clarke shook her head, remembering from their previous encounter yesterday that Lexa didn’t seem to like personal questions. Clarke sighed and tried to remind herself that she only had to be civil towards Lexa for just a few more days. Nonetheless a few more days could be a long time and she wasn’t willing to live them in animosity.


	3. Promising

Chapter III: promising

Clarke went in search of Lexa.  
We got along too well this morning. I am not letting her spoil that.   
She found Lexa in the dining room staring out the window.

Clarke walked slowly through the dining room and came to stand beside Lexa. “I’m sorry,” said Clarke in a soft voice. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”  
Clarke caught a glimpse of sorrow in Lexa’s eyes.  
Lexa sighed. “It’s okay. Let’s not talk about it anymore.”  
“‘kay,” answered Clarke.

“Tell you what? As soon as Aiden wakes up we’ll go take a walk, and I’ll show you more of the town.”  
“That’d be great.”  
“Okay. Can you keep an ear out for Aiden while I take a quick shower?”  
“Sure,” said Clarke, realizing that Lexa was still wearing her running clothes.  
“Good. I won’t be long.”

********************************************************

They took a walk down to Boulevard de la Reine. The boulevard was lined with trees and benches. The sidewalks were busy with bikers, runners, and people simply taking a walk.  
“Don’t you guys have bike trails around here?” asked 

Clarke while barely avoiding a collision with a bike.  
Lexa smiled, “It’s an historic town, we’re lucky we have paved roads!”  
“What’s the name of this road?” Clarke asked, so she could start orienting herself.  
“Boulevard de la Reine.”  
“It means, the Queen’s boulevard, right?”  
“Impressive!” joked Lexa.

“Any reason why it’s called that?” Clarke was always curious about historical facts.  
“The boulevard brings you to the Queen’s gardens. I guess that’s why.”  
“Is there a boulevard du…”  
“…Roi? Yes, it’s parallel to this one on the other side of the castle. And before you ask, no I don’t know why it’s called that.”

Lexa turned left before reaching the end of the boulevard, bringing them in front of the castle. The large U-shaped castle stood in the afternoon sun, its black iron gate and its golden trim shinning brightly, reflecting the name of its first owner: The Sun King.  
“I didn’t realize that we lived so close to the castle,” exclaimed Clarke.  
“Yeah, you should really go visit it.”  
“I’m planning on it,” answered Clarke, admiring the far-away white castle with its paved courtyard.

“Is that Louis XVI?” asked Clarke pointing to the statue of a man on a horse in the middle of the courtyard.  
“No, it’s Louis XIV.”  
“Oh!”  
“Big difference, he was popular. Trust me, his grandchild wasn’t.”  
“No kidding. If I remember right he got his head chopped off.”  
Lexa smiled. “Yep, and thousands of nobles too. Okay, enough history for today, we’ve got to get back before it starts raining.”

Clarke had not realized that the sky had become extremely cloudy.  
“Let’s hurry. We’ll cut through town, so we can take cover if it starts raining too hard.” Lexa grabbed the stroller and started walking.

They had barely reached la Rue du Marché when the rain started falling.  
“Wet, wet.” Aiden was laughing, he had thrown his head back and was trying to catch raindrops in his mouth.  
“Let’s go in here,” said Lexa as she made her way into the indoor market.

Once inside Clarke was taken aback by what she saw. People were standing behind their stands yelling about their products, the shouts were echoing everywhere making the place extremely noisy. Clarke picked up different smells. Hmmm… Fresh bread, cheese, fresh fruits…

“This is incredible,” she said.  
“What’s incredible?” asked Lexa while pushing the stroller through the crowd.  
“This place. It’s so exotic.”  
“Really? Don’t you guys have markets where you come from?” asked Lexa.  
“Not like this. Ours are more…I can’t explain. Everything seems so alive here.”

Lexa looked at Clarke with a mock smile on her face.  
“Come on don’t look at me as if I’m stupid or something. I’m serious, this place is great.”  
“Maybe. I guess I’m just used to it.”  
“Can we walk around for a little while?” asked Clarke.  
“As long as it’s still raining, why not? Lead the way.”

Clarke made her way through the crowd looking around in awe.  
She is like a child in a toy store. Unbelievable! And this isn’t even clothes or jewelry, Lexa smiled.

Clarke stopped in front of a cheese stand.  
“Ma petite demoiselle, vous voulez acheter quelquechose? Regardez moi ce beau roblochon,” said the stand owner pointing at a cheese.  
Clarke turned to Lexa, “What is he saying?”  
“He wants to know if you want to buy some cheese?” explained an amused Lexa.  
“Oh, okay.” Clarke looked back at the man. “Non merci,” she said with her best French accent.

As they walked away, Lexa joked, “Very good accent you have there.”  
“Hey, don’t make fun. I’m here to learn,” said Clarke pretending to be offended. “Oh, look at that,” she said, stopping in front of another stand. “Those are the biggest strawberries I have ever seen,” she exclaimed pointing at the fruit.

“Let’s get some,” said Lexa.  
“Really?”  
“Yes, why not? Hey, Aiden? Want some strawberries?”  
“Stawbe’ies.” said Aiden happily.  
“Okay, so let’s get some.”

Lexa purchased the fruit. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”  
“But it’s still raining,” said Clarke. The rain could be heard tumbling onto the roof.  
“I know. Trust me.”

Lexa pushed the stroller toward the other end of the market and turned right. At the end of the aisle was an opening leading to what seemed to Clarke to be another market.  
“Yikes,” she said while going through the opening.  
“Fish market,” said Lexa.  
“I can smell it,” said Clarke sarcastically.

Lexa lead her to the outside of the market and stopped under a big awning. “Now, what do you say we try those strawberries?” asked Lexa.  
“Now? Without washing them? Gross.”  
“Okay, suit yourself,” said Lexa while grabbing a strawberry and biting into it. “Hey Aiden, here  
you go.” She handed Aiden a piece of fruit. Aiden took the fruit and bit into it, laughing when the juice started running down his chin.

“Oh, boy, you’re gonna be one sticky little boy, aren’t you?” laughed Lexa.  
Aiden giggled. “Good, Lex.”  
“Yeah babe, you’re right. These are really good. I think I’ll have another.”  
“Fine, you got me. I’ll try, but if I’m sick tomorrow, I’ll blame it on you,” said Clarke admitting defeat.

“I knew you couldn’t resist.” She handed Clarke a strawberry. “Here.”  
“Thanks.” Clarke took a bite. “Wow, these are good.”  
“Told you,” winked Lexa.

A companionable silence settled between them. They both stared at the empty street, and at the pouring rain. Once in a while someone would go running by carrying an umbrella or just protecting themselves with a newspaper or jacket.

“Damn.”  
“What? What happened?” asked Lexa. She then took a good look at Clarke and started laughing.  
“That’ll teach you not to laugh at me when I have pizza in my hair,” said Lexa chuckling. Clarke had juice dripping down her chin, some of which had already found her shirt.

“Very funny,” said Clarke while trying to wipe the juice away from her chin. “Arrghh, I can’t do that, I have as much juice on my hands as on my face,” she said with frustration.  
“Wait, let me help.” Lexa reached inside her jean pocket and got a tissue out. “I swear it’s clean,” she said. She gently lifted up Clarke’s face towards her and tapped her chin and the corner of her mouth with the tissue wiping away the last of the juice.

Clarke was caught off guard by the action of the taller woman. She suddenly felt very awkward.  
“Thanks,” she said, blushing and taking a step away from Lexa.  
“You’re welcome. I always have tissues handy with Aiden around. Hey, seems like the rain is slowing down. Do you feel like braving some little droplets? We’re not that far from home.”  
“Lead the way.”

*****************************************************

When they got home Nia was waiting for them.  
“There you are. I was getting worried. You didn’t leave a note or anything…”  
“I don’t remember you leaving a note to tell us you wouldn’t come home last night,” said Lexa sarcastically.

“You know how meetings go….” answered Nia defensively.  
“No I don’t,” answered Lexa dryly.  
Clarke could feel the tension building between the two women. Lexa had her arms crossed on her chest and was staring at Nia challengingly. Come on girl, find something to say before they kill each other.

“Uh…Hi…I learned everything I need to know to take care of Aiden today. Lexa even showed me where his pre-school is,” said Clarke.  
“Oh, really good because I have a full day tomorrow and the day after, and on Friday I’m taking Aiden to my parents for the weekend. I didn’t know when I would have had time to show you anything,” said Nia, relieved for the changed of subject.

Nia looked at Aiden who was still sitting in his stroller chewing on a strawberry.  
“Gosh, Aiden you’re a mess. Come on let’s get you washed up before dinner.”  
She picked up Aiden. “Oh, I ordered Chinese food for dinner. I hope you like it, Clarke.”  
“Yes, I do,” answered Clarke  
.  
“Oh good …it should be here by 7 p.m. Come on sweetheart, let’s take you upstairs and give you a bath.”  
As soon as Nia could not be seen anymore Clarke turned to Lexa, who was taking her coat off. She was obviously upset.

“Hey, are you okay?” asked Clarke, lightly touching her arm to get her attention.  
Lexa passed her hand in her long brown hair in frustration.  
“I’m fine. Nice save earlier.”

Clarke blushed. “Thanks, I guess. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you and Nia, but you seemed ready to kill each other.”  
Lexa gave Clarke a weak smile. “Yeah…sorry you had to witness that…again.”  
“Why don’t you get along?” As soon as the question left her lips Clarke realized what a mistake she’d made. 

Dumb, dumb, dumb… remember, avoid personal questions.  
“Forget I even asked,” said Clarke before Lexa had time to answer anything.

Lexa’s eyes had darkened with anger when Clarke asked the question. Lexa took a deep breath to calm herself down. “It’s okay. It’s just a long story. I don’t want to get into it right now. Ask me some other time. Listen, I’m going up to my room. Tell Nia I’m not hungry. See you tomorrow.” Lexa left the hallway and went up the stairs leaving Clarke behind.

*****************************************************

Clarke decided to go and spend some time in the library until dinner. She went in search of the book of Baudelaire’s poems. Okay, page 41. Let’s see if I can understand the poem that she recited earlier. I need a dictionary… that would make it easier. Clarke looked around and spotted a dictionary lying on one of the desks in the far-left corner of the room. Come on…let it be a French/English dictionary, she thought while making her way to the desk.  
“Yes!” She exclaimed. “Okay, Baudelaire here I come.”

*****************************************************

Time flew by, and she was surprised to hear the doorbell. Gosh, 7 p.m. already. She went to answer the door but Nia had already gotten there.  
“Clarke, can you hold Aiden for me while I answer?” asked Nia.  
“Sure. Come little man,” said Clarke, taking a very willing Aiden from Nia’s arms.

“Hey, you’re all clean! Wanna go and play?”  
Aiden smiled. “Playroom,” he said pointing toward it.  
“Okay you got it.”  
“Don’t get him too wound up Clarke or I’ll never get him to go to sleep tonight. I’ll cook up something fast for him and we can eat.”  
“Okay, I’ll go explore the playroom with him.”

Once in the playroom Clarke looked around her. Hundreds of toys, everything from puzzles to legos to cars, to electric trains were lying around the room. Aiden was obviously a very spoiled little kid.  
“Want to play with your trains?”  
“No, Lego.”  
“Legos, huh? Okay, you’re the boss. Let’s build.”

After 10 minutes, Aiden was so engrossed in what he was doing that Clarke took the opportunity to walk around the room. She stopped in front of a shelf stacked with children’s DVD and books.  
“Kids’ books…yep, that’s what I need to learn the basic French vocabulary.” Clarke picked a book and flipped through the pages.  
“Cool, better than a dictionary. Hey, Aiden? Wanna read a book?”  
Aiden looked up. “ ’kay.”  
“Come on then,” said Clarke while sitting in the floor. Aiden flopped himself on her lap, and Clarke began to read.

“I’m probably destroying the pronunciation! What do you say? Is my French accent really bad?” she asked Aiden jokingly.  
Aiden clapped. “More…j’veux encore!”  
“Now, no mixing French and English otherwise your mom’s not going to be too happy about that.”  
“Aiden, Clarke…dinner!” yelled Nia from the kitchen.  
“Speaking of her…come on Aiden, dinner awaits.”

*****************************************************

In the kitchen the smell of Chinese food engulfed Clarke.I’m starving, she thought while putting Aiden in his highchair.  
“Clarke, would you tell Lexa that dinner is ready?” asked Nia.  
“Uh…she told me earlier to tell you that she wasn’t hungry.”  
“Well, her loss,” said Nia, actually relieved to not have to deal with her step-daughter’s attitude for the rest of the evening.

During dinner Nia told Clarke what would be expected of her in more detail.  
“You’ll have one weekend free per month where you won’t have to take care of Aiden at all. The other weekends, you’ll be asked to baby-sit Friday or Saturday night, sometimes both. You’ll have Sundays off unless something comes up. My husband and I are never home before 7 or 8p.m., but Aiden is starting preschool next week, and he’ll be gone from 9 to 3:30 p.m. everyday, so you’ll have plenty of free time.”

Sounds like fun, thought Clarke sarcastically.  
“Do you have any questions?” asked Nia.  
“No. I might as we go along, but not now.”

“Good then, it’s settled. Aiden, what are you doing?”  
Aiden was playing with his mashed potatoes as if they were slime.   
“Aiden, this is not proper. Look at you, you are a mess again,” Nia sounded exasperated and her voice was slowly rising.

“I’ll get him cleaned up, if you want,” said Clarke, trying to get Aiden away from his mother’s wrath.  
Nia sighed. “Why don’t you do that? Thanks. This child will do anything to drive me insane.”  
Clarke picked up Aiden. “Would you like me to put him to bed also?”  
Nia seemed to consider the offer for a second. “Yes, that would be great. I’m exhausted from my day of work.” She stood up and placed a peck on Aiden’s cheek.  
“Good night, sweetheart.”

After washing Aiden and putting him into his pajamas, Clarke set him down in his bed.  
“Now what? I can’t carry a tune so don’t ask me to sing, but I’ll tell you a story if you want.”  
“Story with tuk?” asked Aiden.  
“What’s tuk?”

Aiden made a vibrating noise with his mouth and pretended to be driving. “Big, big tuk,” he said trying to explain.  
“Oh I get it, truck!”  
“Yeah,” said Aiden happily.  
“Okay, I don’t really know one, but I can make it up.”

Clarke wove the story of a truck that wanted to become a fire truck. Her soft voice slowly put Aiden to sleep. She kissed Aiden good night, and lightly brushed his hair behind his ears.  
“You mom doesn’t really seem to understand that you’re just a little two year old boy. That’s too bad because you’re really cute,” whispered Clarke.

She quietly exited the room, leaving the door half-open. She went downstairs to look for Nia who was no where to be found. She must have retired to her bedroom already. I wonder if… Clarke open the fridge and looked for the Chinese leftovers. She quickly made up a plate and put it in the microwave to warm up.

“Still hungry?”  
Clarke jumped and turned around to find Nia wearing a bathrobe and slippers.  
“You scared me…yeah…the Chinese food was really good. I thought…I mean I hope you don’t mind,” stuttered Clarke.

“No, not at all. Be my guest. Is Aiden asleep?”  
“Yes, he fell asleep right away.”  
“Oh, good. Thank you for doing that for me. I get so tired in the evening. It’s nice to have someone to take over sometimes.”

“Doesn’t Lexa help you with that?” asked Clarke.  
“Lexa? Well, yeah… I guess she does, but she is not really good with children. At least not as good as you are.”  
“Thanks, I guess,” answered Clarke, not believing what she just heard. “I’m going up to my room now. G’night Nia.”  
“Good night.”

I can’t believe what she just said. Lexa not good with children! She adores Aiden. What the hell is she talking about? Clarke carefully carried her plate upstairs, but instead of going toward her bedroom she went down the right corridor. Okay…moment of truth. Now, where is her room?

Soft music came out of the third door. I guess that must be it. Clarke knocked at the door and waited for an answer. Maybe she is asleep. She waited few more seconds in front of the door before giving up. She was half way to the end of the corridor when she heard the door open. She turned around and walked back. Lexa had the door half opened and was wearing a pair of boxer shorts and a tee shirt.

“What do you want?” Lexa asked, annoyed.  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t think you’d be asleep…I…I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you some food since you didn’t eat dinner and all….”

Lexa reached for the plate Clarke was holding.  
“Thanks. You didn’t have to do that.”  
“Yes I know, but I wanted to.” Lexa made no move to invite Clarke in, nor did she seem ready to start a conversation.  
“I guess I’ll leave…uh…good night,” said Clarke, turning away.

“Wait!” Lexa sighed. “Do you want to come in for a bit? You can keep me company while I eat.”  
“Sure. I would love to,” answered Clarke more eagerly that she wanted to.  
Lexa opened the door wide to let Clarke in. Her room was pretty much a replica of Clarke’s, but the difference was in the paintings on the wall.

“Wow,” said Clarke while looking around. “These paintings are great. Who are the artists?”  
“They’re all by the same person.”  
“They are so full of color and life you can almost see what mood the painter was in when he painted each one of them.”

“She,” said Lexa.  
“What?”  
“I said it’s a she,” answered Lexa while putting her plate down on an oak desk in the corner of the room.  
“So, who is she?”  
“Me.”  
“What? You’ve got to be kidding!” said Clarke in disbelief.  
“Why would I be?”

Clarke stared at Lexa. Her green eyes reflected nothing but truth and honesty.  
“That’s the truth, isn’t it?”  
“Yep,” said Lexa with a smile.  
“You’re really talented, you know that?”  
“Thanks. I like painting. It relaxes me.”  
“Have you ever thought of selling your work?”  
“Come on! I’m not that good. Plus it’s just a hobby, nothing more.”

“You’re full of surprises,” mumbled Clarke.  
“What did you say?” asked Lexa.  
“Nothing, just talking to myself,” answered Clarke quickly. “Who is that?” Clarke asked, pointing to the portrait of a woman. 

The woman looked to be in her forties with light brown hair and very piercing brown eyes. Her smile was bright and seemed to illuminate her entire face. Clarke came closer to the painting and found herself staring at the woman’s cheekbones. They remind me of …oh my gosh…they’re the same as Lexa’s. “She has the same…”

“My mother…it’s my mother,” interrupted Lexa. She had moved and now stood directly behind Clarke.  
Clarke stood staring at the painting. “She is beautiful,” she said softly.  
“Was…was beautiful,” answered Lexa with a quivering voice.

Clarke turned around and faced Lexa. “I…I’m sorry I had no idea…nobody…”  
“It’s okay,” said Lexa, walking away and sitting at the desk.  
Clarke didn’t know what to do. The conversation was taking a turn she hadn’t expected. She just stood there waiting for Lexa to decide if the conversation should go on or not.

“Her name was Anya. She died seven years ago.”  
Clarke still didn’t dare say anything.  
“Car accident…drunk driver.” Lexa passed her hand through her hair. “Anyway, it was a long time ago.” Lexa stood up abruptly and walked toward the bathroom. 

“Want something to drink?” she asked.  
“You’ve got a fridge back there?” Clarke asked, surprised and relieved for the change of topic.  
“Yep. So you want something?”  
“I’ll take a Diet Coke if you have one,” answered Clarke.  
“Coming up.”

Lexa walked back toward Clarke and handed the can to her.  
“That’s weird, it says Coca Light on the can, and not Diet Coke.”  
Lexa shrugged her shoulder. “Same thing,” she said before drinking from a Perrier bottle.  
“Weird, it tastes like Coke,” said Clarke after taking a drink from her can.

“What do you mean? Coke doesn’t taste like Diet Coke.”  
“French Diet Coke tastes like American Coke.”  
“I take it you don’t like it, huh?” asked Lexa with an amused smile.  
“Sorry, but I always thought Coke was too sweet. Can I have something else?”  
“I only have Perrier.”  
“I’ll try that.”

“Okay. Do you have siblings back in the States?” asked Lexa while walking back to the fridge.  
“No, I’m an only child.”  
Lexa came back with Clarke’s drink. “Here. Listen, I’m going to eat my food while it’s still warm. You don’t have to stand you can sit on the bed.”

“I don’t want to disturb you…”  
Lexa laughed. “That’s a good one coming from the person who woke me up half an hour ago.”  
Clarke blushed. “Well…I didn’t know you’d be asleep.  
“I’m just fooling with you. Come on, sit down while I eat.”  
“Okay,” said Clarke, sitting on the large bed. 

“Lexa? Can I ask you a question?”  
Lexa looked at Clarke as she bit into her spring roll. She waited to swallow her food before answering.  
“All right,” Lexa answered hesitantly.

Clarke took a deep breath, gathered her courage and asked, “Do you remember earlier when I asked you why you didn’t get along with Nia?” Lexa nodded slightly. “You said to ask you later, and …I think it could be important for me to know what’s going on since I’m going to live with this family for a year and all. I think maybe it’s later and you could explain it to me.” Clarke waited expectantly for Lexa’s answer. 

Clarke was unaware of the battle raging inside Lexa at that moment.  
How much can I tell her? How much do I really want to trust her with? Lexa wondered. Nah, it’s too soon…

“Listen. Really, you’re reading too much into it. We just don’t get along. There isn’t much more to it,” said Lexa  
“Nothing I should know?”  
“Not really. You already know that Nia sleeps around. Beside that there isn’t much.”

“What?” exclaimed Clarke.  
“Don’t tell me you didn’t guess? Come on! Do you really think those meetings of hers are real?”  
“I thought it was a little weird that last night’s meeting lasted that long, but I never thought… I’m sorry.”  
“No sweat, really.”

“That’s why you don’t like her?”  
“Yeah, partly,” answered Lexa.  
Clarke looked up at Lexa, realizing there was more to it, but deciding to not push it for tonight.

“Listen, thanks for the food. It’s late and…”  
“No, no, I should go. I didn’t realize it was so late.” Clarke got up from the bed. “Can you knock on my door tomorrow morning? And this time don’t let me sleep in.” Clarke asked as she walked to the door.

“Or you could just set the alarm on your phone” laughed Lexa.   
“I totally forgot about my phone!” said a blushing Clarke while looking at the monitor on the bedside table. “Wait a minute…do you always leave this thing on?”

“Not always, I only turn it on when Aiden is asleep. By the way, you tell nice tuk stories,” joked Lexa.  
“You heard? I can’t believe it!” said Clarke feigning indignation.  
“Yeah, I heard. Thanks for putting him to bed.”  
“You’re welcome,” said Clarke smiling. 

She opened the door and was ready to take her leave when Lexa spoke.  
“You’re right you know.”  
“ ‘bout what?”  
“Nia doesn’t understand that Aiden is only two.”  
Clarke smiled. “No she doesn’t, that’s for sure. G’night Lexa.”  
“G’night.”

Clarke stepped out of the room.  
“Hey Clarke?” called Lexa.  
“Now who is keeping who awake,” joked Clarke. “What?”  
“If you want, on Friday since Nia is leaving with Aiden early in the morning I can give you a tour of the castle and its gardens.”

“That would be great. Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel like you’ve got to entertain me!”  
“I wouldn’t be offering if I didn’t want to do it. Plus, I’ll give you the unofficial tour.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“You’ll see. Good night Clarke.” Lexa slowly closed the door.  
Clarke smiled with excitement. What better way to explore than with someone who really knows the area?


End file.
